1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manual implement for cutting hair. In particular, the novel implement incorporates a comb, a cutting blade, and a rotary brush for lifting the hair into advantageous position to enable effective cutting by the blade.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need for hand held cutting implements enabling a user to cut his or her own hair is well established in the prior art. Such implements must hold the hair in an appropriate orientation and then cut the hair to have the intended effect. Three steps are required to achieve the desired result. The first is to lift the hair from the head. The second is to hold the hair steady for cutting, as the blade cuts the strands of hair, and the last is to pass the blade across the hair, thereby cutting it.
Where addressing the first step, the prior art has generally relied on pneumatic pressure to achieve the first step. This is seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,949, issued to Robert S. Anzalone on Aug. 26, 1975, 4,000,562, issued to Constantino J. Alevras on Jan. 4, 1977, and 4,216,581, issued to Kevin D. Van Slooten on Aug. 12, 1980. Anzalone provides a powered fan integral to his device. Alevras and Van Slooten rely upon an external vacuum source.
A number of prior art devices provide comb and blade, but lack means for lifting hair. This group is represented by the following U.S. and foreign Patents.
______________________________________ 2,620,559 Michael Verdi December 9, 1952 2,623,277 Walter S. LeFebre December 30, 1952 2,638,907 Mathew L. Boyer May 19, 1953 2,687,134 Frederick Bauer August 24, 1954 2,879,777 John Miller March 31, 1959 3,029,509 George Peters April 17, 1962 904,647 France November 12, 1945 1,309,398 France October 8, 1962 951,392 West Germany October 25, 1956 ______________________________________
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.